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Author: Richard F. Bales Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476604762 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swallowed up more than three square miles in two days, leaving thousands homeless and 300 dead. Throughout history, the fire has been attributed to Mrs. O'Leary, an immigrant Irish milkmaid, and her cow. On one level, the tale of Mrs. O'Leary's cow is merely the quintessential urban legend. But the story also represents a means by which the upper classes of Chicago could blame the fire's chaos on a member of the working poor. Although that fire destroyed the official county documents, some land tract records were saved. Using this and other primary source information, Richard F. Bales created a scale drawing that reconstructed the O'Leary neighborhood. Next he turned to the transcripts--more than 1,100 handwritten pages--from an investigation conducted by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, which interviewed 50 people over the course of 12 days. The board's final report, published in the Chicago newspapers on December 12, 1871, indicates that commissioners were unable to determine the cause of the fire. And yet, by analyzing the 50 witnesses' testimonies, the author concludes that the commissioners could have determined the cause of the fire had they desired to do so. Being more concerned with saving their own reputation from post-fire reports of incompetence, drunkenness and bribery, the commissioners failed to press forward for an answer. The author has uncovered solid evidence as to what really caused the Great Chicago Fire.
Author: Richard F. Bales Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476604762 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swallowed up more than three square miles in two days, leaving thousands homeless and 300 dead. Throughout history, the fire has been attributed to Mrs. O'Leary, an immigrant Irish milkmaid, and her cow. On one level, the tale of Mrs. O'Leary's cow is merely the quintessential urban legend. But the story also represents a means by which the upper classes of Chicago could blame the fire's chaos on a member of the working poor. Although that fire destroyed the official county documents, some land tract records were saved. Using this and other primary source information, Richard F. Bales created a scale drawing that reconstructed the O'Leary neighborhood. Next he turned to the transcripts--more than 1,100 handwritten pages--from an investigation conducted by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, which interviewed 50 people over the course of 12 days. The board's final report, published in the Chicago newspapers on December 12, 1871, indicates that commissioners were unable to determine the cause of the fire. And yet, by analyzing the 50 witnesses' testimonies, the author concludes that the commissioners could have determined the cause of the fire had they desired to do so. Being more concerned with saving their own reputation from post-fire reports of incompetence, drunkenness and bribery, the commissioners failed to press forward for an answer. The author has uncovered solid evidence as to what really caused the Great Chicago Fire.
Author: Carl Smith Publisher: Grove Atlantic ISBN: 0802148115 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 279
Book Description
A definitive chronicle of the 1871 Chicago Fire as remembered by those who experienced it—from the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination. Over three days in October, 1871, much of Chicago, Illinois, was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in the intervening decades—and much of the hastily-built city was made of wood. Starting in Catherine and Patrick O’Leary’s barn, the Fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless path through the city’s three divisions. While the death toll was miraculously low, nearly a third of Chicago residents were left homeless and more were instantly unemployed. This popular history of the Great Chicago Fire approaches the subject through the memories of those who experienced it. Chicago historian Carl Smith builds the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln. Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and its place in America’s post-Civil War expansion. The dramatic story of the fire—revealing human nature in all its guises—became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity. As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle. “The best book ever written about the fire, a work of deep scholarship by Carl Smith that reads with the forceful narrative of a fine novel. It puts the fire and its aftermath in historical, political and social context. It’s a revelatory pleasure to read.” —Chicago Tribune
Author: Paul Bennie Publisher: Infobase Publishing ISBN: 1438103212 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 129
Book Description
What really happened in Mrs. O'Leary's barn that autumn night in Chicago? Though no one knows for sure, what is certain is someone, or something, ignited a load of hay on fire, and the city of Chicago would never be the same. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 raged for more than 24 hours, obliterating the downtown and sparking a mass exodus to the prairies and lake. The flames grew so hot that they melted iron and marble, and the twisting winds tore the roofs off houses. The individual stories of courage and tragedy, recounted by survivors who fought for their lives, captivated a nation and elicited an outpouring of aid. The stricken city would rise again, but its tale of near extinction would remain one of America's most defining legends.
Author: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Publisher: ISBN: Category : Mechanical engineering Languages : en Pages : 1256
Book Description
Vols. 2, 4-11, 62-68 include the Society's Membership list; v. 55-80 include the Journal of applied mechanics (also issued separately) as contributions from the Society's Applied Mechanics Division.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Industries Languages : en Pages : 2416
Book Description
Beginning in 1956 each vol. includes as a regular number the Blue book of southern progress and the Southern industrial directory, formerly issued separately.
Author: Diana Wynne Jones Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 110156699X Category : Young Adult Fiction Languages : en Pages : 430
Book Description
A fantastic tale by the legendary Diana Wynne Jones—with an introduction by Garth Nix. Polly Whittacker has two sets of memories. In the first, things are boringly normal; in the second, her life is entangled with the mysterious, complicated cellist Thomas Lynn. One day, the second set of memories overpowers the first, and Polly knows something is very wrong. Someone has been trying to make her forget Tom - whose life, she realizes, is at supernatural risk. Fire and Hemlock is a fantasy filled with sorcery and intrigue, magic and mystery - and a most unusual and satisfying love story. Widely considered to be one of Diana Wynne Jones's best novels, the Firebird edition of Fire and Hemlock features an introduction by the acclaimed Garth Nix - and an essay about the writing of the book by Jones herself.
Author: Richard F. Bales
Author: Richard F. Bales
Author: Carl Smith
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Author: Paul Bennie
Author: George Consider Hale
Author: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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Author: 
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Author: Benjamin Richards